Westpac started in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales. It rebranded itself as Westpac Banking Corporation in 1982, after a merger with the Commercial Bank of Australia.
Westpac is the oldest company in Australia.
Westpac is one of the Big Four banks in Australia, along with Commonwealth Bank, NAB and ANZ.
Westpac is well known for its Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service, a non-profit organisation run by Surf Life Saving Australia.
Westpac Group also includes Australian banks St.George, BankSA, Bank of Melbourne and RAMS.
Westpac has the largest overseas ATM network with 50,000 international ATMs.
Westpac offers a market-leading savings interest rate for customers under 30 years old.
Main accounts offered by Westpac
Westpac offers a variety of different deposit accounts which you can see listed in the tables above. Here's a brief summary of some of its main accounts for personal customers.
Westpac Choice Account
This is Westpac's core everyday transaction account product which comes with a Mastercard debit card. This account has a monthly account keeping fee of $5, although this fee is waived each month you deposit $2,000 or if you're a student or under 21. This account can also be opened if you're a migrant before arriving in Australia.
This is Westpac's bonus savings account product, well-known for offering a market-leading interest rate of 5.2%
p.a. for customers under 30. This bonus rate is available on balances up to $30,000 for customers aged 18-29 when the account conditions are met. If you're over 30, you can still open this account but you won't get the bonus interest rate of 5.2%
p.a.
You can open a Westpac Term Deposit with $5,000 or more. There's a range of different term lengths available, starting from 1 month up to 5 years. You'll receive a fixed interest rate on your money for the life of your term. Westpac also offers a business term deposit.
Westpac also offers specific accounts for students, youth, migrants, pensioners and business customers. You can see these accounts in the tables above.
Different ways to bank with Westpac
Westpac offers many different ways to do your banking.
Westpac bank branches
Westpac has roughly 1,000 bank branches spread across Australia. Customers can go into a Westpac branch for assistance with day-to-day banking, to deposit cash or cheques, to open or close accounts or to speak to a professional banker.
Westpac ATM network
There are more than 3,000 Westpac ATMs around Australia, and 50,000 internationally as part of Westpac's Global ATM Alliance. Westpac customers can also use their Australian debit cards to withdraw cash for free at CommBank, NAB and ANZ ATMs throughout Australia.
Customers can also use select Westpac ATMs to withdraw cash without their physical debit card, thanks to the bank's cardless cash feature.
Bank@Post
If you need to deposit cash into your Westpac account, you can do this at a participating Australia Post shop using Bank@Post. It's free to deposit cash into your account this way.
Westpac Internet and mobile banking
Westpac Online Banking is Westpac's Internet banking portal for customers. You can log in 24/7 to review transactions and balances, see more detailed transaction data, pay bills, transfer money between accounts and make BPAY payments. You can also view and download your statements and open new Westpac accounts.
The Westpac app is free to download, and has a 4.2 star rating in the App Store and a 3.8 star rating in the Google Play store. You can do your day-to-day digital banking using the app, and you can also set up personal savings goals with your Westpac Life account and track your progress. The app can be customised to your taste with your own wallpaper, colours and profile picture.
Westpac contactless payment options
Westpac offers Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, FitBit Pay and Garmin Pay to customers with a Westpac debit or credit card. This means you can use your phone (or any compatible device) to make contactless payments for everyday items instead of using your physical debit card. You can also use the Westpac app to withdraw cash from eligible Westpac ATMs when you don't have your debit card with you, with the cardless cash feature.
Pros and cons of banking with Westpac
Pros
Market-leading savings rate. The Westpac Life savings account offers one of the most competitive savings rates in the market for customers under 30.
Large ATM network. You can access over 3,000 Westpac Group ATMs Australia wide, as well as over 50,000 ATMs around the world.
Multiple account options. Westpac has bank account options for personal customers, business customers, students, over 55s and migrants.
Large branch network. Being one of the biggest banks in Australia, Westpac has lots of bank branches available and these aren't limited to one particular state.
Cons
Account keeping fees. The Westpac Choice account has a monthly account keeping fee that's only waived if you're under 21, a student or if you meet the monthly deposit conditions.
Interest rates less competitive. The savings rates offered for customers over 30 are less competitive than many other accounts in the market.
How to apply for a Westpac account online
You can apply for a new Westpac account online in less than 10 minutes. Just make sure you meet the eligibility criteria and have the necessary documents handy before you start your application.
Eligibility
You're over 18 years old
You're an Australian resident for tax purposes (unless you're applying for the Westpac Choice - Migrant account)
You have an Australian phone number and residential address
Documentation
Personal details like your name, date of birth, residential address, phone number and email address
ID documents such as your driver's licence, Medicare card, passport or proof-of-age card
What is the Westpac group Global ATM alliance?
If you're a Westpac customer, you can save money on ATM fees when travelling overseas through the bank's international ATM alliance. Westpac is partnered with major international banks and waives the fee for overseas ATM withdrawals at thousands of partner ATMs.
If you have an eligible card issued by a member of the Westpac Group such as travel or EFTPOS card, you won't pay any international ATM fees when you make a withdrawal from a Westpac international ATM alliance partner. A 3% foreign transaction fee applies when using a debit or credit card.
Westpac Global ATM Alliance partner banks
The following table shows the banks in different countries where Westpac customers can avoid the international ATM fee. Note that Westpac-issued American Express cards are not included in the Westpac Global ATM Alliance.
Country
ATM Network
UK
Barclays Bank
United States of America
Bank of America
China
Bank of Nanjing
France, Poland, Luxembourg, Algeria, Guadeloupe, Guyane, La Reunion, Martinique, Morocco, New Caledonia, Senegal, Turkey Italy (under the BNL Brand)
BNP Paribas
Indonesia, Malaysia
CIMB
Germany
Deutsche Bank, Postbank
Singapore
DBS, POSB
Canada, Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Trinidad, Turks & Caicos, Costa Rica, Panama, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Uraguay
ScotiaBank
Ukraine
Ukrsibbank
New Zealand
Westpac NZ
Fiji
Westpac
PNG
Westpac PNG
Are you looking for another Westpac product instead?
If you haven't found what you're looking for yet, you can compare a wide range of additional savings accounts and bank accounts from other providers with Finder.
Alison Banney is the money editorial manager at Finder. She covers all areas of personal finance, and her areas of expertise are superannuation, banking and saving. She has written about finance for 10 years, having previously worked at Westpac and written for several other major banks and super funds.
Earn a market-leading bonus interest rate if you're under 30, and when you meet the account conditions. Learn more about the Westpac Life account and apply online.
Westpac Choice offers you a unique way to save money on mortgage interest while encouraging you to make deposits by offering fee-free banking as an incentive.
While a Westpac term deposit gives you the certainty of earning a fixed interest rate as per your chosen term, so do term deposits offered by other banks. Make sure you compare a few before deciding.
While we do not have a dedicated term deposit rates comparison page for WA, you may use our term deposit page. You should find a comparison table on that page that lists the term deposit accounts along with their corresponding interest rates.
Please read through the terms, conditions, and features of the account you’re interested in before making a final decision.
I have Westpac bank Choice account and Esaver account. And I have issued the debit MasterCard . When I want to use I have to press credit instead of savings. Why it is like this? I do not understand, it is not credit card but still I have to press credit. And I have faced some problems like I can not with draw money in shops. Please let me what can I do about this.
Thanks
Pressing “credit” makes the purchase go through as a credit transaction, which gives it additional fraud protection compared to a regular transaction would. If you can’t withdraw money from the “credit” option, you can try using the “savings” option. Remember to check if you have sufficient funds to complete the transaction.
How likely would you be to recommend finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
Important information about this website
finder.com.au is one of Australia's leading comparison websites. We are committed to our readers and stands by our editorial principles
We try to take an open and transparent approach and provide a broad-based comparison service. However, you should be aware that while we are an independently owned service, our comparison service does not include all providers or all products available in the market.
Some product issuers may provide products or offer services through multiple brands, associated companies or different labeling arrangements. This can make it difficult for consumers to compare alternatives or identify the companies behind the products. However, we aim to provide information to enable consumers to understand these issues.
We make money by featuring products on our site. Compensation received from the providers featured on our site can influence which products we write about as well as where and how products appear on our page, but the order or placement of these products does not influence our assessment or opinions of them, nor is it an endorsement or recommendation for them.
Products marked as 'Top Pick', 'Promoted' or 'Advertisement' are prominently displayed either as a result of a commercial advertising arrangement or to highlight a particular product, provider or feature. Finder may receive remuneration from the Provider if you click on the related link, purchase or enquire about the product. Finder's decision to show a 'promoted' product is neither a recommendation that the product is appropriate for you nor an indication that the product is the best in its category. We encourage you to use the tools and information we provide to compare your options.
Where our site links to particular products or displays 'Go to site' buttons, we may receive a commission, referral fee or payment when you click on those buttons or apply for a product. You can learn more about how we make money.
When products are grouped in a table or list, the order in which they are initially sorted may be influenced by a range of factors including price, fees and discounts; commercial partnerships; product features; and brand popularity. We provide tools so you can sort and filter these lists to highlight features that matter to you.
Please read our website terms of use and privacy policy for more information about our services and our approach to privacy.
What is the highest paying term deposit for 2 months in W.A.
Hi Frances,
Thanks for your question.
While we do not have a dedicated term deposit rates comparison page for WA, you may use our term deposit page. You should find a comparison table on that page that lists the term deposit accounts along with their corresponding interest rates.
Please read through the terms, conditions, and features of the account you’re interested in before making a final decision.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Liezl
I have Westpac bank Choice account and Esaver account. And I have issued the debit MasterCard . When I want to use I have to press credit instead of savings. Why it is like this? I do not understand, it is not credit card but still I have to press credit. And I have faced some problems like I can not with draw money in shops. Please let me what can I do about this.
Thanks
Hi Vemanna,
Thanks for the query.
Pressing “credit” makes the purchase go through as a credit transaction, which gives it additional fraud protection compared to a regular transaction would. If you can’t withdraw money from the “credit” option, you can try using the “savings” option. Remember to check if you have sufficient funds to complete the transaction.
I hope this helps,
Harry
Can I use smart ATM to deposit cash in to my imb account and funds be available immediately? Urgent. Thanks
Hi Ben,
Thanks for your question.
Unfortunately Westpac SmartATMs can only facilitate deposits straight into Westpac accounts. You may want to consider using Bank@Post instead.
Cheers,
Shirley